Military coup is a term used to describe an overthrow of a democratically elected government by members of the country’s armed forces. These actions typically lead to a dictatorship and a decline in democracy and human rights for years to come.
The causes of coups vary but often can be traced back to democratic deficits or the inability of elected governments to deliver security and social justice. They can also be linked to unmet demands for change, such as corruption, population growth and discontent, or the desire of coup leaders for greater power.
Coups are often a tool of the elite to control political power and impose their will on the state. For example, in Thailand, the military has used a series of coups to keep itself in the driver’s seat and prevent reforms that would threaten its own financial interests and those of the monarchy.
In a military coup, the armed forces are the main source of legitimacy by taking over the functions of government and governing the country in their name. The military may also claim that the overthrow of a democratically elected leader was necessitated by a threat to national security or the national economy.
The United States should call a coup a coup. It’s not rare for a government to be duly elected and then to subvert democracy to stay in power, as happened with Egypt’s President Morsi, Father Aristide in Haiti, and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Muddling this message or sending mixed signals, like when Secretary of State Psaki referred to the overthrow of President Ouattara in Niger as “coup-like behavior” rather than a coup, can only exacerbate bargaining problems and encourage more coups that end democracy.
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